Newark Mayor Imposes Curfew at Delaney Hall Immigration Detention Center

Ras Baraka, the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, imposed a curfew on the area surrounding Delaney Hall, an immigration detention center that has become a flashpoint in the debate over President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign.

The announcement came Sunday morning amid rising tensions outside the facility, which is run by private contractor GEO Group under a 15-year contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“Due to the escalating situation at Delaney Hall and the increasing need for police intervention, immediate action is required to protect public safety,” Baraka wrote in a statement. “Multiple individuals have been arrested and found carrying weapons, demonstrating the severity of the threat.”

Under the curfew, movement is restricted within a half-mile (0.8 km) radius of the detention center from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Eastern Time. Nearby Doremus Avenue will also be closed to pedestrians and vehicles that cannot verify a need to be in the area.

Since Delaney Hall reopened as an immigration detention facility last year, it has become a hotspot for confrontations between law enforcement and protesters, including Mayor Baraka. May saw over a week of daily protests outside Delaney Hall after lawyers for detainees declared an ongoing hunger strike inside.

Detainees have reported poor conditions to human rights groups, including expired food, lack of medical care, and abuse by authorities. The Trump administration justifies its mass deportation campaign as targeting “the worst of the worst” and frames undocumented immigrants as a criminal threat. Critics, however, note that many detainees have no criminal record, and some with records are held for minor infractions.

Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse data shows that as of April, about 71% of those held by ICE had no criminal convictions. In solidarity with the hunger strike, protesters have gathered outside Delaney Hall, locking arms in human chains and erecting barricades to block entry and exit. This has led to tense standoffs with law enforcement, who used batons and tear gas to try to clear access to the facility.

Governor Sherrill has called for designated protest zones to reduce the likelihood of clashes between police and protesters. Nevertheless, confrontations persist. Last Wednesday night, six protesters were arrested. Politicians have also faced tense interactions at Delaney Hall. A year ago, a protest led to trespassing charges against Mayor Baraka and assault charges against U.S. Representative LaMonica McIver after a dispute over which officials could enter the facility to inspect it. While charges against Baraka were dropped, McIver still faces proceedings. She has denied the charges and called the prosecution politically motivated.

“A year ago, the Trump administration brought baseless charges against me for conducting oversight to protect immigrants at Delaney Hall,” McIver wrote on social media Saturday. “Did they try to silence me? Yes. Has the level of risk increased? Yes. Will I back down from speaking up for you? Never.”

Over the past week, Governor Sherrill was also denied access to the facility. She has issued a statement calling for Delaney Hall to be closed. At a press conference Saturday, she criticized “national extremist groups” that have come from other states and escalated tensions. She added that current precautionary measures are designed to protect the safety of peaceful protesters. “I urge the protesters outside Delaney Hall to cool down so we can focus on the detainees and their families,” Sherrill said. She suggested that actions by state and local officials will help prevent any expansion of ICE operations in New Jersey. “I will not create a pretext for ICE to expand operations at Delaney Hall or across our state. I will not put lives in danger,” she said. “I am grateful for the majority of protesters who have gathered peacefully and spoken out about conditions at Delaney Hall.”